CADMIUM Smithsonite - image 1

CADMIUM Smithsonite

$1,500.00

VisaMastercardAmerican ExpressPayPalPayPal Pay In 4Discover·
  • $40.00 shipping
  • Seller offers an extended return window of up to 30 days
  • USAShips from USA

Crystal Classics
Crystal ClassicsFeatured
Tucson, Arizona, USA
7,543 for sale·132 sold
The zinc carbonate Smithsonite was abundant throughout the Tsumeb mine in Namibia, occurring in the supergene and all three oxidation zones. As mine development progressed to ever deeper levels, Smithsonite was often found containing copper (cuprian); cobalt (cobaltoan); manganese (manganoan) and cadmium. This ex-matrix cluster of three interpenetrant rhombohedral crystals is the variety Cadmium Smithsonite, made quite apparent by its distinct mustard-yellow to lemon colour. The central crystal is the largest, measuring 2 cm on its longest edge and, as is a characteristic of Smithsonite, all edges of the rhombohedron are slightly outwardly convex-curved. The crystals have translucent outer shells which catch and reflect incident light, causing the surface layers to glow, while the inner cores are opaque. Th base is coloured silver-grey with inclusions of, most likely, Galena within tiny Smithsonite crystals. A lovely Cadmium Smithsonite from Tsumeb.

Product details

Species
SmithsoniteAbout Smithsonite →
SizeMiniature
Dimensions4.4 x 2.9 x 2.4 cm
Listed on10/24/2024
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →
SKUCC8289

Learn more

Smithsonite
Mineral guide
Learn about Smithsonite
ZnCO3 with botryoidal and crystalline forms, silky to vitreous luster, pastel hues from cobalt to yellow; localities boost collecting appeal.
Smithsonite
Regional guide
Smithsonite from Tsumeb, Namibia
is one of the defining collector minerals of Tsumeb: not merely because it is common there, but because Tsumeb turns a usually massive or botryoidal zinc carbonate into a locality signature mineral with uncommon crystal variety, depth of color, and association. Tsumeb smithsonite spans the familiar apple-greens and blue-greens of copper-bearing material, soft pink to violet-pink cobaltoan and manganoan-looking rhombs, yellow-brown and chocolate-brown iron-rich crystals, pale grey to white crusts, colorless to translucent rhombs, and rare red-pink material from the deeper oxidized workings. The best specimens combine sharp rhombohedral or scalenohedral crystals with the sculptural mineralogical theater for which Tsumeb is famous: galena-rich sulfide matrix, sugary dolomite, black tennantite and pyrite ore, cerussite, mimetite, malachite, wulfenite, duftite, dioptase, and willemite.